A letter from Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan pledges to “quickly address” PFOS and PFOA pollutants in community drinking water from DOD activities, the Portsmouth Herald reported Wednesday.

Shanahan’s letter to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) came in response to her request for DOD commitment on PFOS and PFOA action during a March Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

“The department takes its cleanup responsibility seriously and undertakes these actions in an open and transparent manner,” Shanahan wrote.

Shanahan also wrote that DOD supports the EPA “issuing regulatory standards for PFOS and PFOA that help ensure a consistent and nationwide cleanup process… It is clear PFOS and PFOA is a serious environmental concern that needs a comprehensive, national solution,” he added.

PFAS are man-made toxins in a range of products, including firefighting foam, which is believed to have contributed to PFAS presence in installation and community groundwater, as ADC has reported.

PFAS chemicals are a suspected carcinogen that can harm childhood development, increase cholesterol levels, hurt the immune system and interfere with the human body’s hormones.